This Is Forever
by FanFicThis
Summary: (Rated M for later chapters) Three months after Shawn breaks up with Belle, he runs into her at Salem Place... with some guy. When Shawn has reason to believe that Belle is in danger, he will do whatever it takes to protect her. And, if he's lucky, win her back.
1. Chapter 1

It's been 3 months since they broke up. 3 months since he got to kiss her soft lips and hold her in his arms. 3 months he's had to live without hearing her tell her that she loved him. 3 months he has had to live with a broken heart.

Shawn Brady walked through Salem Place. It was the beginning of Spring and it was the first pretty day that Salem had seen in months. He needed to get out of his apartment for some fresh air, to clear his head. The only time he left his apartment that he shared with his best friend, Rex Dimera, was when he went to work. Besides that, he stayed home. He had no reason to go anywhere with anyone, anymore. There was no purpose to do so without her. Without Belle.

He couldn't believe he had been so stupid. They had gotten into an argument. A big argument at that. It was rare for them to fight, but when they did, it usually didn't last long. They both got over it pretty quickly. They were never afraid to swallow their stupid pride and say, "I'm sorry." They would take 15 minutes to themselves and calm down and then they would kiss and make up. That would be the end of whatever the hell it was that they were arguing about.

Of course, Shawn and his damn Irish temper eventually got the best of him. One minute, him and Belle were joking around and laughing. Then he blinked and they were fighting. What they were fighting about he couldn't remember. Not that it was important. All Shawn Brady knew was because he let his temper take control of his brain and his mouth, he lost the best thing to ever happen to him.

There they stood in the middle of her loft, arguing, and then the next minute he was shouting, "IT'S OVER!" and then he walked out her door.

Belle had followed him, she tried to get him to change his mind. But, he was too stubborn, too much of an ass to listen. And, now he was here.

Walking around Salem Place, feeling sorry for himself and missing Belle. He had to find a way to get her back. He had to find a way to make things right with her. If he had to spend the next 50 years dedicating his life to doing just that, he would. He would do anything in the world for her.

As he rounded a corner, not paying attention where he was going, he ran directly into someone.

"I'm so sorry," he said, grabbing the person's shoulders to keep them from falling to the grown.

"I'm sorry," the person said the exact same time as he did.

Shawn looked up and his breath was instantly knocked out of him. He stood there staring into the most beautiful pare of blue eyes.

"Belle," he whispered.

"Sh-Shawn. Hi," Belle Black said nervously.

Shawn's hand still rested on her shoulders. He didn't want to lose contact with her. She was wearing a tank top so his hand rested on smooth and soft skin. He continued to stare into her eyes. He didn't ever want to look away. It's been so long since he has got to touch her and look at her. He knew he had missed her but he didn't realize just how much until now.

"So, how have you been?" Shawn asked nervously, breaking the silence between them.

"I've been alright. Just busy with school and work. How about you?"

"I've been better," Shawn said honestly, shrugging his shoulders.

Just as Belle was going to speak, someone walked up and cut her off.

"Hey, Belle. Are you ready to go?"

Shawn quickly removed his hands from her shoulders and eyed the guy up and down. He wanted to ask Belle who the guy was but knew he no longer had the right to.

"Here in a few minutes. I was just catching up with a friend of mine," she said as she smiled up at Shawn.

The use of the word 'friend' made Shawn cringe internally but he smiled back at her. He guess being her friend was better than being nothing to her at all. And, it was also a step towards getting her back.

""Are you going to introduce us?" the guy asked.

"Uh, Dillon Smelcer this is Shawn Brady. Shawn this is Dillon," Belle said quietly.

Shawn held out his hand and shook Dillon's while at the same time watching as Belle stared down at the grown. Something was off, he just didn't know exactly what. He had heard from people around town that she had taken the breakup just as hard as he did, if not harder, so maybe seeing him was upsetting her? Shawn highly doubted that. If she was out with some guy then that could only mean Belle was over him.

"Well, I'm thirsty so I'm going to go grab something to drink real quick. You have until I get back to talk to him but when I get back, we're leaving," Dillon said as he walked off.

Shawn watched the guy as he walked in the opposite direction of where they stood. He raised a questioning eyebrow at Belle.

"Uhm, well, he seems really nice," Shawn said, sarcasm dripping off every word.

"Yeah," Belle said quietly, still looking down, rubbing one of her arms as if she was cold.

It was getting dark and the temperature was starting to drop. Even though it had been a pretty day, Shawn still wore a light jacket over his short sleeve shirt. He quickly removed it and placed it over her.

"Thank you," Belle said sweetly. She pulled her hair out of the jacket and that's when Shawn saw it. His heart stopped and he felt sick to his stomach.

He was going to kill someone.

**TBC...**


	2. Chapter 2

"Shawn? Are you alright?" Belle asked breaking his train of thought.

"Huh? What did you say?" he asked, shaking his head.

"I asked if you were alright. You look like you seen a ghost."

"Uhm," Shawn started, quickly checking to make sure Dillon was no where around," can I ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything," Belle said honestly.

"I know you told Dillon that I was your friend but..." before he could finish, Belle cut him off.

"I'm so sorry if I offended you, Shawn. I just thought that it's been long enough since we broke up that I just hoped..."

"No, Belle. That's not what I mean. I hope we can be friends too, I mean we are friends. I just really need to ask you a question but I don't want to overstep any boundaries."

Belle gave Shawn a confused and quizzical look.

"Sure. Like I said, you can ask me anything."

Gently placing his hand on her shoulder to move them where nobody could overhear them he took a deep breath and asked, "How did you get that huge bruise on the back of your neck?"

Belle took a sharp intake of breath.

_Crap, he saw that?! Come on, Belle. Think up a lie and think up one really quick. _

But, unfortunately, she couldn't do it. She had never been a good liar, especially around Shawn. Actually, she never had lied to Shawn. Unless you count the time she lied to him about being with her mother the night that his uncle was "murdered" by the Salem Stalker. But, it was her mom and anyone would have done it if they were in her shoes. Okay, that was besides the point... back to the issue at hand.

Tears threatened to fall. She didn't notice she was shaking. She dropped her eyes to the ground and played with a pebble with her foot.

"Belle, please talk to me," Shawn said gently. He didn't want to force her to talk about anything that she didn't want to talk about but he just had to know. He had to know how that bruise got on her neck and he needed to know if Dillon was the one that put it there. He couldn't imagine the thought of Belle being with a guy that would put his hands on her. Hell, he couldn't imagine her being with any other guy besides himself. But, that wasn't the issue. If this guy, or any guy for that matter was responsible for that bruise then hell hath no furry...

Belle slowly looked up from the ground. Her eyes met Shawn's. As soon as she saw the look of worry and concern on his face, she lost it. The tears spilled from her eyes like they were the Niagara Falls. Shawn's heart instantly ripped in two. He had never liked to see her cry, even when they were little kids. He didn't say a word. He reached for her and pulled her towards him. Belle's arms instantly wrapped around his waste and he felt her grip the back of his shirt in her hands. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her as tight as he could. He wanted her to feel safe. He wanted her to know that with him, she WAS safe. As long as he was walking this earth, as long as he had air in his lungs, nobody would hurt her.

Without letting her go, Shawn led her over to a bench and sat down. He hesitantly pulled away from. He took both of her small hands in his and gently spoke.

"Please, tell me what's going on."

Belle kept quiet for a moment, trying to decide where to start and how to explain the situation that she wished she never got into.

Taking a shaky breath, she began, "Well, after you and I broke up I tried every way I could think of to get over it. Over the breakup, over the pain... over you. Well, one night, I guess it was about a month after we broke, I went out with my friends Lauren and Kendall. We went out to dinner and went to a club. While we were at the bar getting us something to drink, Dillon came up to me and asked me to dance. He seemed nice so I took him up on it and danced with him. It was only a couple of dances and then I wanted to go home. Before we left he asked for my number and I gave it to him. I didn't like him like that but I figured we could be friends. A couple of nights later he called me and asked if I wanted to meet up for drinks. I met him that night and that's when he asked me out on an official date. I had told him that I had just got out of a serious relationship so I just wanted to be friends. At first, he seemed okay with it. But, the more we hung out, the more he pushed the issue of us becoming more than friends. One night we were hanging out at his place and we got into a huge argument over the whole issue. Then..."

Shawn kept eye contact with Belle while she spoke. He kept quiet when she stopped talking because he didn't want to pressure her. But, now that she was talking, he didn't want her to stop.

"Then what, Belle?" he asked her gently.

"Then, I told him that he had to be okay with being just my friend or we would just stop talking all together. He got so mad at me, Shawn. I've never seen someone so mad at me before, not even you," she told him, wiping a tear away.

"What did he do?" Shawn asked between nearly clenched teeth, trying his hardest to keep calm.

"He grabbed me by my arms. He grabbed them ans squeezed as hard as he could. It hurt so bad. He then pushed me up against a wall and trapped me there with his body. He told me that he always got what he wanted and he wanted a relationship with me. He told me that people who didn't give him what he wanted usually ended up regretting it. So,I gave in. I told him we could have a relationship. I didn't want to but, Shawn, I was so scared! I was just so scared. I didn't know what else to do but to give in to him."

Belle was crying now. Well, harder than she was before. It felt nice to get it all off her chest but it still didn't resolve the predicament that she was in. Shawn once again pulled her body to his. On the inside, his blood was boiling but he wanted and needed to stay calm for Belle. He gently rubbed her back and kissed her on the side of the head.

"Do you want out?" he asked her.

"What do you mean do I want out?" she asked pulling away from him and looking at him confusingly.

"I mean, do you want out of this relationship? Do you want away from him?"

"Of course I do, but Shawn, there is no way out."

"Yes, there is. You don't have to stay in a relationship with someone you don't want a relationship with."

"Shawn, you don't understand. If I break up with him, he won't be happy."

"Who gives a damn if that son of a bitch is happy or not? All I care about is you. All I care about is if you're happy or not. And, I want you to be safe. Belle, you're not safe with him."

Belle couldn't hide the small smile on her face. Even after being broken up for three months and not seeing or speaking with each other, he still cared about her.

"That's sweet, Shawn," she chuckled as she watched him cringe at the word," but you just don't get it. He told me if I ever left him, he would hurt me. If I break up with him, he will find me and God only knows what he would do to me."

Neither of the two noticed the clouds that had rolled in and covered the now night sky. Just then a loud crash of thunder could be heard throughout Salem and rain started to pour. It was only a matter of seconds until they both were soaking wet.

"He won't do anything to you, Belle. I promise!" Shawn shouted just loud enough for Belle to hear over the rain.

"Yes he will! I can't do it, Shawn!" She shouted back and looked around for somewhere dry to go. "I'm going to go find Dillon so we can get out of this rain!"

Shawn stopped her when she tried to walk away. He wasn't going to let her go back to him. He wasn't going to let her go again, period.

Standing in front of her he said, "Belle, listen to me! He won't hurt you anymore. I promise!"

"How can you promise me something like that?! How do you know he won't hurt me?!"

"Because, **I **won't let him. I swear to you, as long as I'm around, as long as you are with me, nobody can hurt you. Especially him! I will keep you safe, Belle! Please, don't go back to him! Come home with me! Let me protect you!" Shawn nearly begged, still speaking loud enough for her to hear over the rain which was coming down even harder.

"You would do that for me? You would let me come back home with you just so I was safe from this guy?!" She looked up surprisingly at him.

He rested his forehead against hers and cupped the side of her face. He looked into her baby blue eyes and said, "Don't you know by now, Perfect Girl, I would do **anything **for you."

Next thing Belle knew, she felt his lips against hers in one of the deepest and most breath taking kisses they had ever shared.

And, even though she had a boyfriend, she wasn't doing anything to stop it.

**TBC... **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll start on the next chapter soon! (: **


	3. Chapter 3

They stood their kissing in the pouring rain for what seemed like hours, when in reality it was just a couple of short minutes. If Belle and Shawn both had it their way, if they could have it their way, they could have stood there for the rest of their lives. They would be perfectly happy wrapped in each others' arms and forgetting the rest of the world and it's troubles. Unfortunately, the sweet and intense moment was all too soon interrupted.

"Belle, where ar... what the hell is going on here?!" came the voice of Dillon Smelcer.

Belle jumped away from Shawn as if she was a criminal caught by the police committing a crime. Shawn, however, didn't care about the person who had disturbed them and just wanted to continue what they had been doing.

"Dillon, I was just coming to look for you," Belle quickly said.

"Were you? Because it looks like to me that you were whoring around on me!"

"Dillon, I..."

"Just shut up, Belle! Let's go," Dillon said as he turned and started walking away.

Belle looked back at Shawn. She couldn't quite read the expression on his face. Regret? Worry? Maybe both? He didn't say a word. He just stood there, watching her as he waited for her to make a decision. He already told her he could and would keep her safe, all she had to do was go home with him.

"No!" she suddenly shouted at Dillon.

He stopped in his tracks and turned towards her.

"No?" he asked, completely taken back that she said no to him.

"That's right. I said no. I'm not going anywhere with you."

Belle and Shawn both noticed the look on his face change. They could practically feel the rage in him start to build up.

_Man, this dude __definitely doesn't like to be told no, _Shawn thought to himself.

"Belle, I'm not joking. Let's go,NOW!" Dillon said, raising his voice to Belle.

"I'm not joking either. I said I'm not going anywhere with you."

Shawn was so proud of her for standing her ground and not backing down from this guy. However, he knew she was still afraid. He could see her shaking. Suddenly, Dillon took a quick step towards Belle with his hand reached out to grab her. Shawn, even quicker, side stepped in front of Belle and pushed Dillon back with one hand.

"Don't even think about touching her," he said, staring Dillon down.

"Get out of my way so **my girlfriend** and I can leave."

"I'm not your girlfriend anymore. I never wanted to be your girlfriend in the first place," Belle said, her hands placed on Shawn's bicep.

"Damnit, Belle! Let's just fucking go!" he shouted, causing Belle to jump.

"I'm pretty sure she said she wasn't going anywhere with you, so give it up man," Shawn said, placing his hand over Belle's to help keep her calm.

"Look, Prince Charming, just step aside. This doesn't concern you."

"If it concerns Belle, then yes it fucking does concern me," Shawn growled, now irritated beyond belief with this guy.

"Shawn, please. Just calm down," Belle spoke quietly.

If anyone in the world knew of Shawn's temper, it was her. She had seen it rear it's ugly head on many occasions. But, you could ask anyone in Salem, that Shawn's temper was the worst when the situation involved Belle. Ever since they were little, he had always protected her. Just like he was protecting her now.

"Yes, please, Shawn, just calm down," Dillon mocked.

"Shawn, come on. Let's just go home," Belle pulled slightly on his arm.

Thankfully, the rain had let up. It was a quick rain but a heavy rain. Belle was tired, wet and cold. She just wanted to get away from Dillon and leave.

"You can't be serious! You're leaving with this guy?"Dillon asked Belle.

"Yes, I am."

"Belle, you don't want to do this. You know what will happen if you leave here with him. You know what will happen if you leave ME! Don't do anything that you'll regret."

"I won't. The only thing I regret is getting involved with you," Belle defended herself.

"You little bitch!" Dillon shouted, raising his hand to reach around Shawn to smack her.

Shawn caught Dillon's hand and stopped him.

"If you **ever** try something so fucking stupid again, I promise you, I will fucking kill you. You stay the hell way from her. Do not call her, do not text her, don't try to talk to her whatsoever. You got it?" Shawn said through now clenched teeth.

Dillon just stared up at the now extremely pissed off Shawn Brady. With a heavy sigh and a roll of his eyes he said, "Fine. Whatever dude. Do whatever you want to with the little whore."

Shawn roughly let go of Dillon's wrist and then punched him as hard as he could. Dillon hit the ground, looking up at Shawn in shock. He rub his finger over his lip and looked at the blood.

Standing up he looked at Belle and then at Shawn.

"You can't be with her 24/7, man. Sooner or later, she'll be be alone. And, when she is, you're both going to regret today."

Shawn went for him again, but Belle pulled back on his arm.

"Shawn, no. Don't!" she shouted. Her voice softened as he turned and looked at her. She placed her hand on the side of his face and with a small smile said, "let's jst go home."

Shawn glanced back to give one final warning to Dillon, but he was already gone. He looked around to see if he could spot him but he was nowhere in sight.

Turning back to Belle, he took her hand and laced his fingers with her's and said, "Come on, Perfect Girl. Let's go get you out of these wet clothes and into a hot shower. I don't want you getting sick."

"Lead the way, Touch Boy."

**TBC... **


End file.
